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29.05.2015

Fletcher: Commonwealth gold was watershed moment

She might be heading into the unknown next month but Megan Fletcher insists her Commonwealth Games triumph means she has all the tools needed to be successful.

Fletcher is busy preparing to help make history in June as she travels to Baku for the first ever European Games.

With this being the first time the new competition has been held, Fletcher and co might not know what is around the corner, although they will need to get up to speed quickly with the event also doubling up as the European Championships for judo.

However, Fletcher is no stranger to multi-event competitions, having competed at World University Games before her shining moment last summer in Glasgow.

Fletcher arrived north of the border as the British 70kg number one and duly lived up to her billing, beating home favourite Sally Conway in her semi-final before going on to beat Moira de Villiers of New Zealand in the showpiece.

This all came despite the fact she had her face taped up after suffering an injury to her nose, and it is this commitment to the cause that gives Fletcher confidence that her trip to Azerbaijan can once again be a golden one.

“The Commonwealth Games was of massive importance to me because until you do something like that, win a major gold medal, you can’t say you are a real force,” she said.

“I had all this expectation on me and from myself too and to come through that and live up to that has done wonders for my confidence and as a person too.

“And it is this new attitude that I will carry on over to Baku and hopefully I can have another good competition.

“I feel like my performance in Glasgow got the ball rolling for me and I really want to progress to the top level now.

“There isn’t much further for me to get to now, but should I do well in Baku that would get me closer to Rio which is the next step, so I am really excited for it.”

However, even the best laid plans can go awry, and Fletcher and her compatriots have already had to have a rethink in terms of their future plans.

It was only announced on February 21 that the judo competition in Baku would double up as this year’s European Championships – but Fletcher insists it will take more than that to throw her off her stride.

“It has been a good year for me so far following on from the Commonwealth Games,” she added. “It has been very busy with competitions and different events but that is what you want.

“I have picked up some medals along the way and while I can always be better I can see progression.

“Baku was always going to be a big competition but since it will double up with the European Championships it does add that little bit to it.

“It did mean that we had to change our plan slightly because the European Championships moved by three months but I was always aiming to do well so it doesn’t really change anything for me and I am just as determined to succeed regardless.”

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